Eight of Robert W. Jensen's art works have been chosen by the author of a new book on sports and the arts as illustrations along with images by Renoir, John Stuart Curry, Archipenko, Goya, George Stubbs, and many others from the world's finest museums.
The book, titled, Sport as Symbol - Images of the Athlete in Art, Literature and Song, is by Mari Womack, currently a research scholar at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women, whose doctoral dissertation required years of interviews and observation of sports, and eventually led to this book. One side trip along the way was her journalistic career covering the Los Angeles Olympics for the Voice of America -- at the time, second only to the BBC as the most influential radio broadcasting organization in the world.
Womack discovered the award-winning artist's work in a book titled, The Young Athlete, which comprised more than ninety images from paintings, drawings and prints by Jensen, with a text written by famed Hollywood correspondent Bonnie Churchill based on interviews with celebrities about their youthful sports experiences. One image in the book, titled The Diamond Belt Weigh-In, was acquired by the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, for its permanent collection, which includes works by Audubon, Inness, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Ben Shahn, and Winslow Homer. To see these and other Jensen images, as well as many more details on the artist, please visit the web site: TheDiscriminatingCollector.com.
Jensen said of the new book, "Nearly every great artist in history has tried his hand at capturing the body language of athletes. I am thrilled to be in such illustrious company in Mari's new book. This subject is so powerful, it should be of great interest to everyone."
Elaborating on the subject, author Womack added, "Upon first consideration, sport and art seem to occupy separate, even opposing, realms -- sport, associated with physical prowess, while art is associated with the highest reaches of the mind. But because sport is such a powerful metaphor for so many human experiences, it has found its way into artistic traditions all over the world, and throughout history."
The book is being published by McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers of Jefferson, North Carolina and London. They invite visitors to their web site at McFarlandPub.com. McFarland is one of the leading publishers of serious work in a variety of fields including the performing arts, sports, recreation, history and international studies -- many of which have won awards.
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